Hollins University Hollins Digital Commons Hollins University Theatre Performances Theatre 9-4-2016 Starcropolis: Theatre Under the Star Ernest Zulia Hollins University Katherine Fralin Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/performances Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Zulia, Ernest and Fralin, Katherine, "Starcropolis: Theatre Under the Star" (2016). Hollins University Theatre Performances. 5. https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/performances/5 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Theatre at Hollins Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hollins University Theatre Performances by an authorized administrator of Hollins Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Presented by Hollins Theatre Institute and Hollins University With the City of Roanoke and Mill Mountain Theatre Playwright's Lab Mill ROANOKE Mountain Theatre Why Theatre? Why Starcropolis? If you go and hang out at the star any time of the day or night, you will meet the people who share your world and get a glimpse at the rich tapestry of our community. If the star could talk, she'd have plenty of stories to te!J. Stare 0lJ,Olis creates the mechanism for us to gather and share these Star Stories ... our stories ... arnd experience what it means to be alive in Roanoke, in this moment, on this mountaintop, in the glow of one another's • 1 J I I ight. .. together. -Ernie Zulia Dear Star Catchers: Welcome to Starcropolis, and thank you for joining us for this amazing gathering. We're crazy about this place where we live, and the people who populate it, and we know we 're not the only ones. So along with a lot of great friends and colleagues, and the magic of theatre, we have tried to create something that can capture what is fairly impossible to put into words. It's mind blowing how many people have donated so much time, money, and enthusiasm to make Starcropolis happen. It looks like we all believe in the same thing ... each other! I ! Special thanks must go to our sponsors, who believe in things like Starcropolis, Roanoke, and the people who make her special. First and foremost, to President Nancy Gray and Hollins University and City Manager Chris Morrill and the City of Roanoke: partners who believe that great things come when knowledge and the humanities join with the government and the people to say, "Life is good ... especially here!" And to Mill Mountain Theatre for keeping the lights on and the plays coming. Since your first performance here on the mountain in 1964, you have continued to inspire us all. Thank you to the remarkable guest writers and members of the Hollins Playwright's Lab for ascending the mountain to create new plays that tell our stories, as they continue to make Roanoke an exciting ignition point for new works in the American theatre. : And to the Fishburn family whose tremendous gift through Foundation for Roanoke Valley made s/ arcropolis possible. When your family gave 100 acres on the top of Mill Mountain to create a p,ublic park for all to enjoy, not only did they create a legacy for us all , they also gave us our very own /acropoli:5: And ~l?ng with fellow sponsors and believers, D~vis H. Ellio~ Company, Hometown Bank, / a'nAd\ Caril1on Clinic, your support strengthens our community and our lives. // /: ;A~ d to Stage Sound, Access, Chocklett Press, and the other wonderful businesses listed in the / pllybi1Jthat provided generous in-kind services and products. It takes a village, and we are so grateful 1 r Y. o.u\ a.re\part of ours. 1 i .· \•· \. 1 / /\ rI.~dto all the people who have volunteered their time and energy into making one magical night of 1 / !.~-~~ttr,· ..., o~LMill~~otJl'l-! ~_il'l~~You are.-tr-ue ;.'&tar catchers," and we are all better because of your generous ... 1. Ispin) \·. s. --~~~·····-••• . .. - .. _ I . --"~,, T1~ings~likeStarcropolis happen because of faith ... faith in the value of the arts, in the importance of theatre, and in each other. The\ Roa_noke Star isn't going anywhere! It is our hope that the spirit of Starcropolis will continue through \proJects such as the Roanoke Public Library's "Starry Corp" and pop-up performances of Star St~n' f s y,et t? come. And who knows, maybe we will meet again here at our acropolis atop Mill Mountain to celebrate one another through the magic of live theatre . :. .Thank' you for your inspiration! Katherine Fralin and Ernie Zulia Codirectors of Starcropolis 1 Starcropolis Main Stage 1 Star Stories .. .lf the Star Could Talk Conceived by KATHERINE FRALIN and ERNIE ZULIA Directed by ERNIE ZU LIA Hellos and Goodbyes Hope in America by Laura King by Elizabeth Heffron Morton-Rick Blunt Ted-Thom Moore Robin-Ami Trowell Yana-Marion Grey Amanda-Erica Musyt Second Star to the Right Statue of Liberty by Shane Strawbridge by John Patrick Bray Peter-Shane Strawbridge Jack-Patrick Regal Edna-Marion Grey Flag Burning by Jill Mccorkle Petting Kate-Amanda Mansfield by Lee Smith Woman 1-Thesa Loving Woman 2-Megan Mccranie Roy and Me Phil-Todd Ristau by Lee Smith Waitress-Natalie Pendergast Sally-Thesa Loving Shank of the Evening Star Secrets by Ben Jolivet by Joy Sylvester-Johnson Person-Rick Blunt She-Amanda Mansfield He-Michael Mansfield Pretty Little White Lies by Dwayne Yancey February at the Star Man 1-Thom Moore by Robert Fulghum Man 2-Simon Adkins Man-Shane Strawbridge Woman-Bayla Sussman From Beginning to End Fred-Tom Honer by Eric Edson Daughters-Bonny Branch, Vanessa Mills Sam-Nick McCord Bethany-Vanessa Mills Next Year at the Roanoke Star by Maura Campbell Street Sweeper: Andrew Moore Debra East-Charlotte Pearl AReal Man ...A Mostly True Story Midge-Mikayla Parker by Beth Macy and Tom Landon Mrs. East-Erica Musyt Andrew Moore-Jasper McGruder Let's Not Over Analyze This Opening Night by Paul Sambol by Ernie Zulia Lisa-Bonny Branch Wanda-Dawn Wells Julie-Ami Trowell Vietnam Vet-George Spelvin Order of plays subject to change Dramaturg .......................................... Kevin Ferguson Lighting Designer ....... .. ............... .... .. ..... Ann Courtney Associate Director ................................ Susanna Young Costume Designers ................... Julie and Lee Hunsaker Musical Director ............... .. ...... ............ David Caldwell Sound and Lighting Supervisor .. .... ....... ..... Reid Henion Scene Designer/Technical Director ........... John Forsman Stage Manager ................. ............... Shelby Taylor Love Codi rectors LEE SMITH (Hollins class of 1967) is a New York Times bestselling author and the recipient of multiple awards , including KATHERINE FRALIN, Ph.D., is the founding the Academy Award in Fiction from the director of the Batten Leadership Institute American Academy of Arts and Letters. at Hollins University. In addition to her Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains post at Hollins, Fralin supports leaders of Southwest Virginia , nine-year-old Smith from all fields in their ongoing leadership was already writing--and selling, for a development. Fralin actively engages nickel apiece--stories about her neighbors in the arts and community building in in the coal boomtown of Grundy and the Roanoke. She has cofounded a music nearby isolated "hollers. " Since graduating from Hollins, hall , developed a number of community she has published 11 novels, as well as three collections of arts initiatives, and has served on numerous nonprofit short stories. Smith's writing, along with that of her friend boards. She served as a founding board member of several Jill Mccorkle, was featured in the off-Broadway hit musical organizations, and currently serves as founding board Good Of' Girls, which played to sold-out audiences at member of the Roanoke Cultural Endowment. Fralin's Hollins in 2011. shameless eavesdropping, especially at the Mill Mountain BETH MACY (Hollins M.A., class of 1993) Star, sparked the idea for Star Stories. is a journalist who writes about outsiders ERNIE ZULIA serves as artistic director and and underdogs. She is the author of the chair of the Hollins Theatre Institute. He • New York Times bestseller Factory Man, worked as a professional theatre artist for which is in development for a major over 25 years before coming to Hollins motion picture starring Tom Hanks. in 2004. Zulia is the recipient of the Her writing has won more than a dozen Kennedy Center American College Theatre national awards, including a Nieman Festival Award for Outstanding Teaching Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard and Artist. In addition to his many productions the 2013 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. Her - on the Hollins stage, he has directed new book, Truevine, is a riveting American tale about race , dozens of plays, musicals, operas, and greed, and the human condition. The unforgettable story world premieres in regional theatres throughout the United of what happened in Truevine, Virginia, will shock readers States and internationally, including the Barter Theatre, even as it warms their hearts. Macy lives in Roanoke with Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the her husband, videographer and journalist Tom Landon, who Park , and the Asolo Theatre. He served as associate artistic co-authored her Star Story, Street Sweeper. director at Mill Mountain Th·eatre from 1987 to 1995. TOM LANDON is a teacher and television His stage adaptation of Robert Fulghum 's international producer who lives in Roanoke. He holds a best-selling book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in master's degree in instructional technology Kindergarten, which premiered at Mill Mountain Theatre in from Virginia Tech and teaches AP Human 1992, has received thousands of productions around the Geography for Virtual Virginia, a program world. He also created and directed the musical revue of of the Virginia Department of Education.